Preliminary Research Findings
Cancel the Contract Project
By Catalyst California
14 August, 2025
I. Executive Summary/Main Narrative
All people in the AV deserve to live in safety. This includes freedom from police violence, as well as conditions that create well-being and opportunities to thrive. For people of color, especially Black and Latinx youth, safety is often undermined by LA Sheriff’s Department (LASD) and high school district practices that push youth of color out of schools and into the criminal legal system (such as disproportionate suspensions, expulsions, and arrests). More broadly, for Black and Latinx AV residents, a sense safety is undermined by inequities in other sectors, such as housing and economic insecurity.
A. Summary of research findings
Below is a summary of our preliminary research findings. All of the data can be explored more in-depth throughout the page:
Education data shows that students of color are being funneled out of the classroom through expulsions and suspensions. Antelope Valley Union High School District (AVUHSD) suspends Black students more than to all other student groups. AVUHSD also suspends students with disabilities (SWDs) at very high rates. Conversely, these student groups also have lower graduation rates compared to White students. These disparities demonstrate the systemic biases that are harming students of color, and the urgent need for more investments in better school supports and counseling.
Preliminary research findings show that police are disproportionately stopping Black and Latinx youth AVUHSD schools. Black students in particular are being disproportionately impacted by police relative to their overall enrollment in AVUHSD.
The majority of people being stopped by police in AVUHSD schools are stopped for reasons related to school fighting or possession of marijuana. Additional stop reasons police cite include non-serious offenses such as jaywalking or violating education codes.
The results of people being stopped in AVUHSD schools further corroborates that police activity is not being used to prevent serious crime. Most stops in AVUHSD schools result in an in field cite and release, or some form of referral to a parent, guardian or school administrator.
The racial disparities in police stops extend beyond AVUHSD schools to the greater Antelope Valley (AV) region. Police disproportionately stop people they perceive as Black relative to the general Black population in the Antelope Valley. People perceived as Latinx by police make up nearly half of all the stops police make in the Antelope Valley.
II. Background / Context of AV
A. Describe how the AV is a diverse place.
We define the Antelope Valley (AV) geographic region as SPA 1. The AV has a large youth population overall, at 27.5% of the total population. By comparison, 20.9% of LA county’s population is age 0-17. The AV is also racially diverse, with Latinx people making up more than half of the total population.
Age | Total | Count | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
17 and under | 408,374 | 112,293 | 27.5 |
18-24 | 408,374 | 37,453 | 9.2 |
25-34 | 408,374 | 55,825 | 13.7 |
35-44 | 408,374 | 53,665 | 13.1 |
45-54 | 408,374 | 48,584 | 11.9 |
55-64 | 408,374 | 50,358 | 12.3 |
65 and older | 408,374 | 50,196 | 12.3 |
Our education analysis for the AV focuses on the Antelope Valley Union High School District (AVUHSD). All education data for AVUHSD is for the 2024-2025 academic year. In AVUHSD there are more Black and Latinx students enrolled than White students. Students with disabilities have a 17.8% enrollment rate in AVUHSD.
LA county student enrollment also has a high proportion of Latinx students at 65.2% compared to 67.2% in AVUHSD. However, the Black student enrollment rate for LA county is only 6.7%, compared to 16.6% in AVUHSD. Additionally, students with disabilities make up 14.8% of total student enrollment in LA county.
III. AVUHSD and LA Sheriff’s Department undermine safety in the AV by harming Black and Latinx youth, and youth with disabilities through practices that push them out of school and into the criminal legal system.
A. Schools disproportionately push Black and Latinx youth, as well as students with disabilities out of the classroom
In AVUHSD, only 60.4% of students with disabilities are graduating, while 80.4% of White students are graduating. AVUHSD is graduating Latinx (79.4%) and Black students (72.7%) at lower graduation rates relative to other racial groups and they are the majority of the student population.
Graduation rates for Latinx students in AVUHSD are lower compared to county-wide rates. The graduation rate for Latinx students in AVUHSD is 79.4%, while the Latinx student graduation rate in LA county is 85.6%. AVUHSD should be investing more of its resources in supporting its students academic success as opposed to removing them from classrooms.
AVUHSD suspends 5.1% of White students compared to 6.2% of Latinx students and 18.1% of Black students. AVUHSD is suspending Black students at more than triple the rate of White students, showing how students of color are disproportionately losing time in the classroom. AVUHSD also suspends 13.7 out of every 100 students with disabilities.
In LA county, schools also suspend Black students more than any other student groups at 5.6%, while schools county-wide suspend 1.9% of Latinx students.
AVUHSD’s expulsion rates show similar trends. AVUHSD expels more Black students than any other student group, and White students are expelled the least.
B. Rather than getting more time in classrooms, these students are being forced to interact more with law enforcement and funneled into the school-to-prison-pipeline
Police stopped 904 people in AVUHSD between 2018-2023. Police responded to a call for service for 317 of the 904 people stopped, or 35% of all people stopped. In other words, police chose to stop students in 65% of stops (587 of 904).
AVUHSD is over-policing Black students. People perceived as Black by police made up 53.2% of all stops in AVUHSD but their enrollment rate in 2024-2025 is only 16.6%. Stated another way, for every 1,000 Black students enrolled in AVUHSD, police are stopping 131.9 Black students.
Police stopped 38.2 students they perceived as Latinx out of 100 people stopped. The current enrollment rate of Latinx students in AVUHSD is 67.2%. Police are stopping people they perceive as Latinx at the second highest rate out of all student groups.
Out of all people stopped by police in AVUHSD, people police perceived as White made up 7.9% of all stops, while the White student enrollment rate is 8.9%.
When looking at stops that are calls for service versus stops that are not calls for service, we see that police stopped students perceived as Black more often for a stop that was not a call for service compared to a call for service. Out of all people police stopped for a stop that was not a call for service in AVUHSD, 58.2% of those people were perceived as Black. In other words, more than half of the people police stopped without a call for service in AVUHSD are perceived as Black. Conversely, police stopped only 5.1% of people perceived as White for a stop that is not a call for service.
Police stopped 23 students with disabilities in AVUHSD. It is important to note that police stops of students with disabilities are severely under-counted, as reported by several external sources.
The table below shows the stop reasons that police cited for the 23 people with disabilities they stopped in AVUHSD.
Reason for contact | Reason for contact detail |
|---|---|
Reasonable suspicion that the person was engaged in criminal activity | Witness saw students fighting. |
Reasonable suspicion that the person was engaged in criminal activity | placed student on 5585 |
Consensual encounter and search | 5585 investigation |
Reasonable suspicion that the person was engaged in criminal activity | 242pc |
Reasonable suspicion that the person was engaged in criminal activity | 245a1pc |
Determine if student violated school policy (student) | attempt 902a |
Reasonable suspicion that the person was engaged in criminal activity | subject was identified by victim as punching him in the face |
Reasonable suspicion that the person was engaged in criminal activity | student being detained by security officers for making verbal threats to shoot students |
Determine if student violated school policy (student) | STUDENT BEING VIOLENT IN CAFETERIA OF SCHOOL. |
Determine if student violated school policy (student) | SCHOOL SECURITY DETAINED SUBJECT AND FOUND SUBJECT TO HAVE MARIJUANA ON THEIR PERSON. |
Reasonable suspicion that the person was engaged in criminal activity | The student was suicidal and a flight risk. attempted to leave school and runaway. I detained and handcuffed fearing he would commit suicide. |
Consensual encounter and search | the patient was making suicidal statements and told me he would kill himself if he left school |
Reasonable suspicion that the person was engaged in criminal activity | subject made reference to school shooting |
Determine if student violated school policy (student) | Patient began yelling and banging his head against a wall stating he wanted to kill hiself |
Reasonable suspicion that the person was engaged in criminal activity | Subject admitted in written school statement he was involved in a fight on school campus |
Knowledge of outstanding arrest warrant/wanted person | Named subject in report. |
Reasonable suspicion that the person was engaged in criminal activity | The subject was identified by school officials as being involved in an incident where he assaulted to school staff members |
Reasonable suspicion that the person was engaged in criminal activity | teacher overheard sj talk about being prepared if he went to another school. sj stated what if i brig a weapon and shoot their asses. security det and searched, sj refused comment, tst for house check, parent refused affirmed weapons secure, w/a rele |
Reasonable suspicion that the person was engaged in criminal activity | Suspect identified by school staff as being involved in incident where she threatened school officials |
Reasonable suspicion that the person was engaged in criminal activity | subject was found possessing knife on school grounds |
Reasonable suspicion that the person was engaged in criminal activity | The suspect was identified by school officials as being the suspect of a battery and threats against a school employee. |
Consensual encounter and search | contacted patient regarding a 5150 wic evaluation. |
Reasonable suspicion that the person was engaged in criminal activity | Student was contacted due to assaulting her mother |
Examining the stop reasons for people stopped in AVUHSD, nearly half of stops were for school fights and smoking marijuana, neither of which should require law enforcement.
Whether in response to a call or by officer choice,police cited a reasonable suspicion that the person was engaged in criminal activity in roughly 90% of stops of students. The other 10% of stops were because of a consensual encounter and search, to determine if a student violated a school policy, to determine whether a student is truant, an outstanding arrest warrant, a possible Ed Code violation, or traffic violation.
Whether a student violated a school policy or Ed Code should be investigated by school staff as opposed to law enforcement. That was 4.2% of the stop reasons police gave for people stopped in AVUHSD.
Geography | Reason for contact | Count | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
Antelope Valley Union High School District | Reasonable suspicion that the person was engaged in criminal activity | 811 | 89.7 |
Antelope Valley Union High School District | Determine if student violated school policy (student) | 30 | 3.3 |
Antelope Valley Union High School District | Knowledge of outstanding arrest warrant/wanted person | 26 | 2.9 |
Antelope Valley Union High School District | Traffic violation | 13 | 1.4 |
Antelope Valley Union High School District | Consensual encounter and search | 8 | 0.9 |
Antelope Valley Union High School District | Investigation to determine if person is truant (student) | 8 | 0.9 |
Antelope Valley Union High School District | Possible conduct warranting discipline under Education Code (student) | 8 | 0.9 |
Out of all people police stopped in AVUHSD, 13% were stopped because the officer had a reasonable suspicion that the person was engaged in criminal activity were due to the student matching the description. Stops where someone matches a description are fraught with error.
Police also stopped students for a number unnecessary reasons including disrupting classwork, disruption of school activities, willfully disturbing a school zone, loud noise, litter, jaywalking, bothering other children, possessing unlawful paraphernalia. Out of all people police stopped in AVUHSD, 15.2% were stopped for fighting in a public place and 12.3% were stopped for possession of marijuana on school grounds.
Reason for contact | Reasonable suspicion detail | Total | Count | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Reasonable suspicion that the person was engaged in criminal activity | person witness or victim ofsuspect | 904 | 662 | 73.2 |
Reasonable suspicion that the person was engaged in criminal activity | that the person matched description | 904 | 119 | 13.2 |
Reasonable suspicion that the person was engaged in criminal activity | officer witnessed commission crime | 904 | 38 | 4.2 |
Reasonable suspicion that the person was engaged in criminal activity | person carrying suspicious object | 904 | 4 | 0.4 |
Reasonable suspicion that the person was engaged in criminal activity | action indicative violentcrime | 904 | 2 | 0.2 |
Reasonable suspicion that the person was engaged in criminal activity | action indicative drugtransaction | 904 | 1 | 0.1 |
Reasonable suspicion that the person was engaged in criminal activity | action indicative casing victimlocation | 904 | 0 | 0.0 |
Reasonable suspicion that the person was engaged in criminal activity | lookout | 904 | 0 | 0.0 |
When examining what the stop results are for people stopped in AVUHSD, the most common stop result was an in field cite and release, followed by some form of contacting a guardian or school administrator alone or in combination with other stop results. Police action is not necessary for student behaviors that require guardian or school administrator referrals.
Geography | Stop result | Total | Count | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Antelope Valley Union High School District | In field cite and release | 904 | 620 | 68.6 |
Antelope Valley Union High School District | Contacted legal guardian | 904 | 304 | 33.6 |
Antelope Valley Union High School District | Referral to school administrator | 904 | 234 | 25.9 |
Antelope Valley Union High School District | Custodial arrest without warrant | 904 | 146 | 16.2 |
Antelope Valley Union High School District | Psychiatric hold | 904 | 29 | 3.2 |
Antelope Valley Union High School District | Warning | 904 | 26 | 2.9 |
Antelope Valley Union High School District | Custodial arrest warrant | 904 | 15 | 1.7 |
Antelope Valley Union High School District | No action | 904 | 14 | 1.5 |
Antelope Valley Union High School District | Referral school staff | 904 | 10 | 1.1 |
Antelope Valley Union High School District | Citation for infraction | 904 | 9 | 1.0 |
Antelope Valley Union High School District | Noncriminal caretaking transport | 904 | 9 | 1.0 |
Antelope Valley Union High School District | Field interview card completed | 904 | 3 | 0.3 |
Officers can provide an offense code to accompany a stop that resulted in an in field cite and release, which gives more detail about the citation. Out of 100 people police stopped in AVUHSD, 28.4 were given an in field cite and release for fighting or possession of marijuana.
Instead of contributing to student safety, police are actively harming students in AVUHSD. Police handcuffed 19.7 people out of everyone they stopped. Of everyone 178 students that police handcuffed in AVUHSD, 106 of those students were perceived as Black. In other words, more than half of the people police handcuffed in AVUHSD were people police perceived as Black. This extreme police action is excessive and traumatizing to students, especially in a school setting.
Police’s own data show that their actions are not contributing to safety. Out of everyone police stopped in AVUHSD, 19.6% were searched, which in itself is an extreme police interaction students should not have to experience on a school campus. Out of students police searched, 53.1% of people were perceived by police as Black and 38.4% were people police perceived as Latinx. It is clear that police disproportionately search Black and Latinx students. Additionally, out of everyone police searched, 72.9% yielded no contraband. In other words, the overwhelming majority of students police are searching on school grounds are not harboring illegal contraband. Yet the students have to live with the experience of being searched by police at school.
C. LASD’s racially discriminatory practices apply to AV youth outside the classroom as well
In 2023 LASD stopped 31,818 people in the AV. Of all people stopped, 6,974 people were stopped for a call for service, or only 22% of all people stopped. Conversely, 24,844 people were stopped in an officer-initiated stop, or 78% of all people stopped.
Police disproportionately stop Black people in the AV relative to their total population. The data shows that 31.6% of all people police stopped in the AV are of people police perceived as Black, while only 14.8% of the AV’s population is Black.
We also see police stopping people they perceive as Latinx at high rates in the AV, as they make up 47.4% of all people police stopped in the AV. While 53.6% of AV’s population is Latinx that is still a high burden of stops being experienced by the Latinx community.
Conversely, 24% of the AV’s general population is White yet people perceived as White only make up 18.5% of all AV stops, indicating that there is racial bias in who the police are stopping in the AV.
Examining why police stopped people in the AV, the most common stop reason for anyone above the age of 17 is traffic violations. This is consistent with police stop behavior county-wide and in other jurisdictions.
IV. In addition, safety for Black and Latinx AV residents is undermined by inequities in other sectors, such as economic and housing insecurity, and environment.
A. [PLACEHOLDER]: Short Story / Anecdote from community – can incorporate the framing of what “real safety” means to Antelope Valley community members
Antelope Valley children, like all children deserved to be cared for. There are special circumstances in the region that demand even more care. According to the UCLA Pritzker Center, the Antelope Valley is home to the largest number of foster care placements in LA County. The California Department of Education recognizes the importance of funding children in foster care, providing funding through its Local Control Funding Formula. Antelope Valley Union High School District should do the same and redirect investments in school police to investments in foster students and other youth deserving heightened care.
Relatedly, the Los Angeles County Department of Child and Family Services (DCFS) reports higher rates of substantiated referrals – or reports of child abuse or neglect where authorities identify reasonable cause to believe maltreatment occurred – in the Antelope Valley than in other parts of the county. At the same time, the Antelope Valley has lower rates of services supporting children and families in the child welfare system. According to the County of Los Angeles, the region has half as many domestic violence services per capita than the rest of the county.
B. Redlining and other racist policies made by white supremacist institutions result in poorer health outcomes for BIPOC people in the AV
Employment is an issue with many residents commuting over the hill to cities outside of the Antelope Valley for work. The type of work is unevenly distributed as Antelope Valley Black workers are employed as an official or manager at one third the rate of White workers. This type of salaried employment is critical for healthy and stable households.
Compared to the rest of Los Angeles County, Antelope Valley Families are more likely to earn incomes below the real cost of living. United Ways of California estimates that 41% of LA County households earn less than the real cost of living, while 51% and 52% of families in Lancaster and Palmdale, respectively, earn less than the real cost of living. In other words, more than half of Lancaster and Palmdale households don’t earn enough to cover basic costs such as food, housing, transportation, and childcare.
The cost of housing in a once affordable area of LA County has become a problem for families. Six in ten Antelope Valley renters now spend 30% or more of their income on housing. This issue is particularly burdensome for AIAN families, 82% of which are rent burdened.
Subgroup | Burdened | Pop | Percent |
|---|---|---|---|
Total | 78,529 | 130,420 | 60.2 |
AIAN Alone or in Combination | 3,869 | 4,701 | 82.3 |
Latinx | 36,494 | 61,382 | 59.5 |
Asian NL | 1,714 | 3,612 | 47.5 |
Black NL | 23,044 | 33,287 | 69.2 |
Other NL | 245 | 477 | 51.4 |
Two or More NL | 2,945 | 4,080 | 72.2 |
White NL | 13,002 | 26,280 | 49.5 |
NHPI Alone or in Combination | 237 | 509 | 46.6 |
SWANA | 1,007 | 1,630 | 61.8 |
A lack of resources, especially health resources has been well documented for the Antelope Valley. The entire Valley is a health professional shortage area for mental professionals. Many have to wait hours for care or travel hours to cities with more accessible care. For families and children who may have mental health needs, an investment in mental health care would be vastly preferable to investments in school resource officers. Law enforcement personnel in schools lack the training to work with children with mental health issues that trained health care professionals possess.
The lack of health care resources have immediate effects on health. The Antelope Valley has among the highest rates of infant mortality in the County, and Black infants experience a disproportionately higher infant mortality rate compared to other racial and ethnic groups countywide.
Lack of employment, high costs, and a lack of resources have compounding effects on health, for example life expectancy. Life expectancy in the Antelope Valley is nearly five years less than the county average. According to the County of Los Angeles Department of Public Health the life expectancy in SPA 1 is 75.9 years, and the life expectancy in LA County as a whole is 80.4 years.